The Heart and Soul Within
by Sprawling Divide
Summary: (FINISHED) Mikoto still senses that Kuja is alive in the Iifa Tree, and decides to look for him, as well as deal with some of the emotions she's been experiencing lately. A one-shot.


**The Heart and Soul Within  
  
By SkittlesJC  
  
Rating: **PG  
  
**Genre: **Drama/Angst  
  
**Summary: **(FINISHED) Mikoto still senses that Kuja is alive in the Iifa Tree, and decides to look for him, as well as deal with some of the emotions she's been experiencing lately. A one-shot.  
  
**A/N: **This is my first (and probably my only) non-wrestling fan fiction. I just felt like writing it one day, and besides, I LOVE Final Fantasy IX. After this story, I'm going back to writing some more wrestling fics, but anyway, I hope you like it!!! It's a fluffy little one-shot. Note that I don't write like much of the anime fans since I'm totally clueless about it.  
  
By the way, when reading this, please keep in mind that I strongly do NOT consider Genomes to be relatives of each other at all, but rather they are merely creatures created by the same person, Garland. So please, don't think incest! Incest is sick and disgusting. Okay? =)  
  
---  
  
The sunshine enveloped Mikoto in warmth as she stared up at the Iifa Tree. On his way out of the Tree and back to Alexandria to see his love Garnet again, Zidane Tribal had sadly informed her that Kuja was already dead, but yet she swore she could hear something. Her heart sensed a voice calling out to her. Could it be...?  
  
Kuja. Hated by many, feared by all. Several claimed him to be of pure evil and hatred, but she knew that there was good in every creature, him included. Her creator, Garland, had told her that she, as well as all the other Genomes created on the planet Terra, were incapable of experiencing human emotion. So what was this strange feeling that seemed to be taking over her? Was it a flaw Garland had overlooked when he created her?  
  
It seemed unidentifiable. Whenever she looked at, or even just thought about Kuja, she could feel a tiny little twinge in her insides, a warm, bubbly feeling. His delicate-as-porcelain skin, his graceful motions, his captivating eyes all seemed to spark that one certain inexplicable emotion. Despite all the evil he seemed to possess, she could see the true goodness within him just wanting to shine through. What was this feeling called again? _I think that the humans call it "love." _But that's not right. The Genomes of Terra are not supposed to feel love. They're not supposed to feel anything!  
  
Mikoto shoved her musings aside for a moment and decided to focus on the more important matter. Her heart could still hear that voice calling out her name. It wouldn't go away. Maybe she ought to find out where it was coming from. Mikoto shrugged, swept her glimmering blonde hair back and walked towards the Iifa Tree, both determined and curious about that one voice.  
  
The air was very cold inside the Iifa Tree, and everything was dead silent. There were no life forms in sight, as everything had perished when Necron was defeated by Zidane and his friends. Mikoto's footsteps echoed throughout the hollow tree as she tried to follow the source of the voice.  
  
-  
  
Kuja lay on the ground, almost completely drained of life. Death seemed very, very near, just standing over him and biding its time. Kuja's eyes were closed and his breathing was weak, but his thoughts were very much alive. His last conversation with Zidane had left him with a lot to think about. Life...Death...Love. Emphasis on the last one. _Damn it, world conquest is overrated,_ he thought to himself. _I was so blinded by my greed that I overlooked what really matters most in life. Now it's too late, and my entire life is just totally...wasted. _A sigh escaped his nearly frozen lips. Why wasn't he dead yet? He thought death had already overcome him as he finished talking with Zidane, but it turns out that there was still the tiniest sliver of life left in him. Not a good thing for Kuja. He just wanted his misery to end right then and there. Fate can be so cruel sometimes.  
  
At that moment, he heard a sound coming from the distance...the sound of footsteps drawing nearer to him. Who could it be? The footsteps seemed to get faster and faster now, and before he knew it, someone was shaking his nearly lifeless body by the shoulders.  
  
"KUJA!!! Kuja, wake up," came a frantic female voice, choked with sobs.  
  
His eyelids fluttered open, and through his blurred vision he could see a blond-haired figure bent over him. Who the hell...? "M-M-Mikoto, is that you?"  
  
Mikoto's deep blue eyes were glistening with tiny droplets of tears. She hugged him tightly. "Oh, Kuja, thank goodness you're alive!" Mikoto got the flask fastened to her waist and let Kuja drink the cool water inside it.  
  
He coughed and sputtered a bit before finally speaking. "Mikoto, you shouldn't have done that," he told her weakly.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Kuja's gaze lowered to the ground beneath them. "After all that I've done, I...I don't deserve to live."  
  
She laid her hand on his cheek and faced him towards her, looking deep into his beautiful, sparkling amethyst eyes. "Kuja, everybody deserves a second chance."  
  
"What, even me? I don't think so."  
  
"Especially you! I know that there is pure goodness inside you, Kuja, I just know it! Don't waste your life away, when there is so much that you can do for this world...so much that you owe to this world."  
  
Her last words caused Kuja to think even more deeply. "You're right, Mikoto, but...I can't bear living on with all the evil of my past actions."  
  
"If you can't do it for yourself, Kuja, then please, live on for me? I---I know a Genome shouldn't be feeling this, but...I really care about you, Kuja."  
  
Kuja sat bolt upright and stared at her. No one had ever told him that before. No one had ever cared about Kuja, and hearing those words being spoken by Mikoto stirred up something inside him. "You do?"  
  
"Yes, I care about you, even if Genomes aren't supposed to have emotions...is---is there something wrong with me, Kuja? Is there?"  
  
He placed his hands on her cheeks to wipe away the tears running down them. "No, Mikoto, there's nothing wrong with caring about somebody."  
  
"But I'm just a Genome, and Genomes aren't supposed to feel anything..."  
  
"Just because you're a Genome doesn't mean you're merely a soulless, empty vessel. We all have the right to love: me, you, and everybody else in this world."  
  
"Well, then...I love you, Kuja."  
  
He could feel the icy walls that surrounded his heart melting. It's amazing how the love of a person can change someone's life, just like that. "Oh, Mikoto...you don't know how much that means to me."  
  
He wrapped her body in his arms and embraced her warmly as she buried her face in his shoulder. A tear quietly slid down his cheek. "And I...I love you too, Mikoto."  
  
She stood up, and pulled him up by the hand as well. "So are we going back out there to Gaia?"  
  
Kuja felt he was ready to start his life anew in the world. It was the magnificent power of love that changed him, and now he was going to accept the second chance that life had given him to finally right all his wrongs. "Alright, let's go. Oh, and one more thing..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Thank you...for loving me."  
  
-FIN- 


End file.
